Urban.us to raise $10 million for startup investments

Urban.us to raise $10 million for startup investments

Bengaluru, India | Red Newswire | Jan 03, 10:00 AM IST

Urban.us venture fund is very near to raising $10 million fund for investing in startups that are making an impact on city living including local government, utilities, environment, mobility and logistics.

The first fund company raised was $1.3 million which it invested in 20 startups. Some of the startups in which Urban.us has invested include BRCK, Revivn, Skycatch and HandUp. The goal of this funding was to enable companies to move to Series A funding. This second round of funding is targeted to startups which have shown growth.

Stonly Baptiste, co-founder of Urban.us says, “We believe climate change is the biggest challenge we’re going to face as a society. And we see cities as one of the key mechanisms for efficiency to impact what that trajectory looks like.”

Approximately 70% of the total greenhouse emission comes from the cities and it is expected to double by 2050 along with the population. That is why Urban.us invests in startups that can make a positive impact on the cities.

Baptiste adds, “This idea of making the world a better place is very broad, but it normally tips on the scale of sacrifice. Like, what can you do personally to help the situation is usually looked at, ‘what can you sacrifice?’”

OneWheel is therefore one of its favorite companies. OneWheel offers great public benefit, since if more people get to using electrical vehicles like OneWheel, it would drastically reduce the emission levels.

Baptiste said, “If we can start changing the conversation from there is a separation between doing good and making a profit, or a separation between doing your part and actually enjoying your life, if we can heal that and help people realize you can do both, then great.”